Sunday, April 1, 2012

The Bike - 2008 KTM 690 Enduro

The modifications to the bike included the addition of a custom fabricated rack mounted at the rear grab handle locations and was designed to mount a "Givi" box. The 12.0 liter fuel tank is located on the rear of the bike. The fuel tank also acts as the rear sub-frame for the bike along with the grab handle mounting and the frame is molded into the fuel tank. It appears extremely strong compared to previous KTM sub-frames. However, if you damage this internal frame, the entire fuel tank will need to be replaced, so I tried not to over load it.

I also geared the bike down by reducing the front sprocket by one tooth. The average speeds on the roads in the Philippines are low and combined with the traffic, narrow roads, and many dirt roads, gearing the bike down was a huge improvement over the stock gearing. This made getting around in traffic and around busses and trucks much easier. You will rarely get the bike into 6th gear except on the expressways or on some of the better straight highways in the provinces, even with the down gearing.

I also, disconnected the power restriction on 2nd & 3rd gear. ( Mono Maniacs ) This is very easy to do, but you might have a problem passing emission requirements. However, emissions are not a problem in the Philippines, all you need to do is spend 5 minutes behind a jeepney to figure that one out. After removing the power restriction, there was a noticeable improvement in power and gave that extra little bit of punch when you needed it at lower speeds.

Other luggage we carried was a dry bag strapped on top of the "Givi" Box and a little tank bag where I could view the HTC/Phone-GPS when riding and, which carried the tool kit, along with a few other things. We also had a small back pack with a water-proof cover for carrying our camera gear. We traveled light and stayed in whatever accommodation we could find.

There are accessories available for the 690, that include a 2nd 14.2L fuel tank on the front of the bike which will increase your fuel capacity to a whopping 26 Liters. There are also up to 41 liter aluminum side cases available along with a rear luggage rack that is similar to the custom one I had built. With the side cases and "Givi" box along with the extra fuel tank, I believe this bike can be a true adventurer.

The extra fuel tank would have been a nice addition for our ride, but I could not find it for sale in the Philippines and would have had to order it from overseas. There are usually plenty of fuel stations present in most areas and lacking any fuel stations there is always fuel attainable on the side of the road being sold in liter bottles. However, with this being a fuel injected engine, any contaminated and poor-quality fuel could be a big problem, especially since the fuel filter is located in the tank, which is not easy to get to.

In some areas even the fuel being sold by the side of the road could be scarce. This was especially true in Palawan, Samar and in the Mountain provinces of Luzon. With the extra fuel tank, there is literally no place you couldn't go in the Philippines on this bike. It would have also eased my mind when running on reserve hoping to find a fuel station. Fortunately, I found a fuel station most times and only had to purchase fuel in the liter bottles a couple of times.

My biggest complaint other than the fuel injection stalling issue was not being able to purchase the diagnostics' tool. You can play with the adjustments manually without knowing whether or not you are making the correct adjustments. This at least gets you up and running or temporarily fixes an issue you are having, but to do it properly you need the diagnostics' tool.

Blog Archive

Search This Blog

Follow by Email

About Me

I have lived in various states in the US, Victoria Australia, Seoul Korea, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, the Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces of China, and in the Philippines among a few other places.
I started skiing when I was 4 years old carving up the snow and climbing through the mountains of Utah. It was a nice backyard to have growing up. When I was around fourteen I started riding motorcycles and have never looked back. I have owned and ridden many motorcycles throughout the years. I love riding in the dirt, on the tarmac, or around a track. I have always loved adventure. I believe that in life we should try to experience and understand as much as possible.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step - Laozi (c 604 bc - c 531 bc) the Tao Te Ching,